On QB David Carr, the franchise’s first draft pick in 2002, who was jettisoned in 2007 and now plays for San Francisco: “I think had David Carr been coached better, things might have worked. If I had it to do over, I think we would have gotten David a veteran quarterback in here. He needed someone to show him what it takes. I think we treated David as a No. 1 pick and did not demand enough of him. He thought he was doing everything that needed to be done and that wasn’t the case. He needed to be the first player in here and the last one to leave. He needed to work more with our receivers and put in not just required time but go over and beyond. David did not understand that, and he said that recently. Knowing what I know now, I would not let that happen. Coaches set him up with video equipment in his home. I’m sure he looked at a lot of that tape. But he needed to be here more and working with the coaches and doing more with the players.”

That, my friends, is the most explicit discussion of David Carr’s work habit issues that anyone from the Texans has ever said publicly. It’s not surprising, but it is surprising that it was said as directly and as publicly.

And for you draftniks and Texan fans, if you haven’t already read the last post which is my Q&A with 1560’s John Harris, I strongly urge you to do so. Here’s some more draft fuel for the fire added by McNair:

On the Texans’ history: “You have to have a core group of really good players. It takes longer to get that than I had imagined. Early on, we did not take advantage of early draft picks. We weren’t able to get that core group. We have that now. We have one of the best quarterbacks (Matt Schuab), the best wide receiver (Andre Johnson), a fine tight end (Owen Daniels), solid offensive linemen … We’ll pick up a running back or two in the draft to solidify our running game. We have an exciting offense. Coaches I talk to tell us they don’t want to play us anymore. Last year, we had 15 of the 16 games going into the last four minutes where we had a chance to win the game and were in position to win it.”

“We’ll pick up a running back or two in the draft.” If I were to guess, I’d say second round, maybe first round if they don’t like a defensive player at that spot.

If you really want to have a better understanding of what McNair is thinking about things, this is about as clear an interview as he has ever had on various subjects, and if you are a Texan fan I urge you to read it. Lots of stuff to chew on.

And now for a musical interlude, especially for those readers out of the Austin area. My good friend Tim is a member of a band called “Louder Shrine,” and they just finished recording a six-song EP, and the songs are now up on his band’s MySpace page on the upper right hand corner. I know from previous music discussions on the blog that a number of you like old school metal, so if you are musically inclined, go check it out.